With Grace in Your Heart
by Courtney Confunded
Summary: "A pensieve. It allows one to view memories as if they were there, at the scene." Teddy is left with a series of memories to remember his parents by.
1. Prologue

**Um, hello. So, I wrote this little prologue here at midnight last night when I couldn't sleep, and since then, I've written two other drafts. I've had this idea for a while, and now I've finally written it out. If all goes well, I suppose I'll make it my summer project. Actually, I really wanted to write a series of Remus/Tonks one-shots, but I also thought I should do something with a plot so I can actually have a stopping point. So, I slapped some plot in there and here you have... this fic. **

**Also, please don't kill me for the slightly poor quality. I wasn't as motivated to write this chapter as I am to write the rest, when it's actually kicked into gear. And I also spent three hours finalizing this so there aren't huge plot holes, because in the first two versions, there were several. So, I hope it's actually decent now.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong><span>Prologue<span>**

He was missing Victoire's birthday. He promised her he'd go. He wanted to go — everyone would be there, and she was his best friend. He told himself to go, but somehow, it was a struggle to move from his position, perched on a tree stump at the edge of the forest.

"Teddy," Andromeda called. She stood on the porch with her arms folded across her chest. "I have something for you."

At first, he didn't respond; he wanted to be alone. Finally, though, curiosity got the best of him. "What is it?"

When she approached him, her eyes were bloodshot — she had been crying. But he didn't look at them for long. His eyes drifted to the glass vile in her hand. A long, silvery-blue string drifted about. "I was supposed to give this to you on your seventeenth birthday, but I think now's a better time." She placed the vile in his hand and walked away, leaving him alone with the mysterious substance.

He didn't have the slightest idea what it could be, but the glow captivated him. He lightly shook the vile, as if it would somehow reveal something to him. Suddenly, a loud crack sounded from behind him. He heard his grandmother say, "He's over there," and footsteps carefully made their way toward him.

"You're missing the party," Harry muttered. Teddy quickly shoved the vile in his pocket. "Everyone's looking for you."

"Well, you can tell them I'm here," he retorted bitterly. "Why should I celebrate the day my parents were murdered?"

Harry jumped a bit, taken aback by the last word. "You know, not everything that happened that day was bad. The entire Wizarding world was saved. They died to protect you." He sighed. "They wouldn't want you to be sad. In fact, I'm certain they'd rater you be out celebrating."

Teddy bit his lip, considering it. "Alright, I'll go," he agreed quietly. Harry squeezed his shoulder and walked by his side toward the house.

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><p>The crowd cheered as Harry entered with Teddy close behind. They greeted him happily, but soon left him alone. Once he wished Victoire a happy birthday, he sat down on the couch, isolated from everyone.<p>

He grew so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear his godfather enter the room. When he looked up, Harry was in the chair across from him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone," Teddy murmured. He squeezed the small tube in his pocket.

Harry didn't say anything more, but he also didn't leave. Finally, he asked, "Are you excited to start school next — "

"Can you tell me what this is?" He had barely listened to his godfather's attempt to make small talk; he had suddenly grown extremely curious about the "gift".

When Harry saw the vile, his bright green eyes grew wide and slightly alarmed. "Where did you get that?"

"Andromeda gave it to me," he explained. "Said I wasn't supposed to have it until I turned seventeen. I think it's from my parents — that's why she had it."

Harry continued to gape. "That - that's a memory." He blinked rapidly. "Have you ever heard of a pensieve?"

"A what?" Teddy leaned forward to listen more closely.

"A pensieve. It allows one to view memories as if they were there, at the scene."

Teddy took in the words carefully. "Are you saying my parents left me with memories before they died?"

Harry sighed. "I wouldn't put it past your mum," he admitted. "She must have saved them for you before she came to fight." His eyes were glossy; tears lingered in the corners, threatening to emerge at any point.

A silence lingered between them, not quite comfortable, but not quite awkward either. Teddy swallowed, then whispered, "I don't suppose you know where I could find one of these penstives, or whatever they're called?"

For the longest moment, Harry remained silent, thinking. "I might know a place."

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><p><strong>If you have a minute, a simple review would mean the world to me.<strong>


	2. The Confession

**Um, wow. Thank you so much for the reviews. They made me feel really great. They made my not-so-great day yesterday a lot better, so I really appreciate it. Anyways, it's become a habit to sit in my bed at one in the morning and jot down rough drafts of chapters in my notebook, so that's how I write them now. This one only has one draft, so it probably won't be as great as the others. On top of that, I'm just getting into the flow of this story, so I'm hoping they'll get progressively better.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1: The Confession<span>**

Harry had been talking ever since they first left the party. He told Ginny that they would be back shortly — of which she was less than pleased — and since then, had been telling his godson about his encounters with said "pensieve". The few things Teddy bothered to pick out were "Barty Crouch Jr.", "Merope Gaunt", and "my mum". His mind was far too focused on the memory he held in his hand, delicate and so meaningful to him; he could only imagine what contents lay within such a small strand.

"This is it." Harry stopped them outside an old, beat-down bar with a dusty sign that read _Hog's Head Inn_.

Teddy grimaced as they entered. Drunken men shouted across the bar, while others chatted loudly in order for their neighbor to hear them. "Uh, are we really going to find a penc — pent — whatever it's called _here_?" He looked uneasily at the tables and other décor about the bar.

"No," Harry replied, leading him to a door. "We're going to find it in here." He lightly knocked twice.

After a moment, they heard a grunt. The door opened to reveal an old and graying man looking rather disheveled until he saw Harry. "Ah, Harry. Where have you been? Come in, come in." Teddy hesitated before following them up to another room. He was a bit relieved to escape the atmosphere of the bar, but also reluctant to enter the room of the old stranger.

"So," the man began conversationally, "what brings you here this evening?"

Harry swallowed. "Well, first off, let me introduce you to Teddy Lupin, my godson. Teddy, this is Aberforth Dumbledore."

It didn't take Aberforth long to recognize the name. His eyes widened as he inspected the boy carefully. "Is it really?" he asked quietly.

Harry cleared his throat. "Do you still have the pensieve from Minerva?"

Aberforth broke his gaze away from Teddy. "Th-the pensieve? What do you need it for?"

Teddy answered first, in his bravest voice, "To view the memories my mother left me." He held out the vile before the old man.

"O-of course I've still got it. I wouldn't be rid of such a valuable item." He seemed unable to tear his eyes away from the memory. "Come with me." Harry and Teddy obediently followed him into a room much than the last, and much more isolated, with only a single, small window as the main source of light. There, pushed against a wall, was the pensieve, a glowing light emanating from the liquid within.

Both Harry and Teddy were instantly drawn to it, gazing into the blank pool. "I'll leave you two gentlemen alone," Aberforth said before exiting.

"So this it?" Teddy finally asked.

"This is the pensieve. Once belonged to the great Albus Dumbledore before his death. Then, after the battle, it was given to Aberforth, I suppose as a token to remember his brother by."

Teddy didn't appear to be listening, once again. "How does it work? Do I just pour it in?" When Harry nodded, he emptied the contents into the pensieve. "Now what?"

"Follow my lead." Harry took in a deep breath before placing his face on the surface of the pool. His godson followed suit, holding his breath as he did so.

The room they had just been in disappeared. They were now in a dark corridor of a place unfamiliar to Teddy. Dust coated the thick carpet, and it looked as if the place hadn't been occupied in decades.

"Where are we?" Teddy asked Harry, who appeared to know the place.

A single tear sparkled in his eye — the location must have meant something to him. "Number 12 Grimmauld Place," he recited. "This was my godfather's home, as well as the Order of the Phoenix headquarters for a while."

Teddy had been told about the Order a few times; he knew that it was a secret organization formed to help take down Voldemort, and that it was how his parents first met. "What does this have to do with my parents? There's no one — " He was cut off by the sound of voices and a chiming laugh from the kitchen. He quickly followed Harry into the room. "Wait," he hissed quietly, "can't they see us?"

"No," Harry replied. "It's just a memory…" He trailed off, distracted by the man sitting at the head of the table, his dark hair a bit ragged and windblown.

Sirius Black was exactly how Teddy imagined based off his godfather's description, appearing just as careless and reckless as he'd been made out to be. Teddy didn't focus on him for too long, for he drew his eyes to the woman who had just walked. He looked up at her hair, which was surprisingly blonde. But he knew it was her, he just knew it. "I hope you didn't touch anything upstairs, Tonks. I doubt Kreacher would care to see that any of his precious artifacts had been broken by the traitor's clumsy little daughter."

"Oh, very funny," she retorted, sitting down beside him. "Just so you know, I _am _capable of doing things without destroying anything."

"You've yet to prove it to me, then."

She stuck her tongue out childishly, but had no response. Teddy couldn't help but smile. He almost forgot about Harry until he gently patted his shoulder.

The memory took place right after a meeting — some people left, but a majority stayed for dinner. It didn't go by unnoticed that one person was absent from the group.

Molly called her children down to eat. Harry smiled at his younger friend and wife, until the twins appeared. His smile faded as George appeared, with Fred laughing at his side. Teddy took note of the extra Weasley, but he soon moved across the room, more intent upon seeing his mother — this was _her _memory, after all.

Sirius also appeared to be studying her carefully, a grin growing on his face. Tonks turned to him, frowning. "What?" she demanded. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I know why you're so upset tonight," he responded, unable to fight the growing smile.

She blushed. "Why would that be?"

"Because _he's _not here."

If possible, her cheeks reddened. She looked down at her plate of food. "I don't know who you're talking about," she lied, struggling to keep her voice collected.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You know _exactly _who I'm talking about. Don't try and lie to me; I've seen the way you two look at each other."

"I still don't know what you're referring to — "

"Fine, you don't have to admit to it." He paused. "But I just want you to know I fully support it… As long as you don't steal my best away from me _all _the time."

Tonks ignored him, but continued to steal glances in his direction every so often. He never looked away, nor did he wipe the challenging grin off his face. "Alright, fine!" she finally declared. "Maybe I do… just a little." He leaned back in his chair, satisfied with himself. "But I am telling you this in confidence, okay?"

"Fair enough." He smirked.

She moaned, dropping her fork onto the plate. Kingsley paused to look at her, as well as most people at the table, but they soon returned to their chatter. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

He shook his head, laughing. "Nope, not until you two are married… with ten kids."

"Whoa," she replied. "I've known him for three weeks. It's not like I'm going to wake up tomorrow to a marriage proposal."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know; the Remus I know is more reckless than you'd think."

"That doesn't mean anything — "

"That's probably why he likes you so much. You remind him of the man he used to be."

She glared at him, one of the darkest looks Teddy had ever seen anyone give. "Let it go, please. I can't believe I gave into you." She shook her head. "And ten kids?" she added.

"I don't know, it could happen. Just look at Molly." She smacked his arm playfully, just as the scene — Grimmauld Place — disappeared around them.

Teddy lifted his head from the pensieve. Harry looked at him, expecting a reaction. "We have to get the others," the boy uttered, barely audible. He turned around and sprinted out of the room. Aberforth was down in the bar, cleaning. He almost didn't notice as he ran by.

Harry sped by just as quickly. "Thank you, Aberforth!" he called in a rush.

To the door, Aberforth replied, "Anytime."

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><p><strong>If you have the time, a review would be wonderful.<strong>


	3. The Truth

**I was not intending to have this chapter up this early, but it's so much shorter than I thought, so I figured why not. My alter-ego writing self was extremely tired last night, so I wasn't really up for making it a lengthy piece. Besides, the first two memories are only meant to be "introduction" pieces anyways. I can guarantee future chapters will be a lot longer, and more detailed, and contain more... of everything.**

**Thanks for the reviews, and enjoy.**

**Note: **This does not take place directly after the first chapter. I suppose it's about two days afterwards, but for the sake of the story, I don't really plan to spend too much time with the introductions before diving right into the memory. So, this has a little bit of explanation, but just for the record, it's been a few days since he last visited the pensieve.

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><p><strong>2. The Truth<strong>

The supply of memories was larger than he'd been expecting; at least twenty were aligned in chronological order on a shelf in a spare bedroom. It was the only room that went unoccupied besides his mother's. Apparently, it had served as Ted Tonks' workplace since he and Andromeda first moved in. That explained why his grandmother kept it locked all the time.

Once he had the second memory, Teddy went to Harry to ask to accompany him again, but he claimed he had too much work to do. "I'm sure Ron or Hermione would love to go along," he suggested.

Now, there he was, standing in the same cramped room in the Hog's Head beside Ronald Weasley, who hadn't even bothered to tidy up his ginger hair before coming along. "Have you ever used one of these before?" Teddy hesitated, sensing the unfamiliarity of the stone pensieve.

"No, first time," he answered honestly. "Let's go!"

Teddy swallowed before dumping the smooth silver into the pool. He and Ron carefully leaned forward, diving into the liquid contents.

The setting changed instantly; they were now outdoors, on a street corner. Ron looked around carefully. "This is Grimmauld Place." He indicated the sign above them and the apartments on either side.

"Why are we outside?" Teddy wondered aloud. At first glance, he didn't see anyone, but after inspecting further, he noticed a figure silhouetted by the now setting sun. The man was sitting on the steps outside number twelve

The door to the apartment opened and the figure of a woman joined the first. Teddy crept closer in order to hear their muted conversation. He heard Ron follow close at his heels.

"You weren't supposed to know," the woman began quietly. As he drew closer, he could see the bright pink tones in her hair color — just the way she had been described.

The man sighed. This was the first time either of the viewers had actually paid attention to him. His hair was a very dark blonde, almost brown aside from the golden highlighted by the disappearing sun, though a few strands shone silver here and there. Teddy felt as if he were going to cry, but instead, he let out a small laugh.

"What?" Ron asked, seemingly dazed by the people sitting before him.

The boy shook his head. "This is the first time I've seen _him_, my dad, as well as the first time I've seen them together — aside from pictures, of course, but it's just not the same."

They both looked at the pair sitting side by side on the steps.

"Look," Tonks said into the silence. "I've said it once and I'll say it again: it doesn't bother me, what you are — "

"Doesn't bother you?" Remus repeated. "It doesn't bother you that I'm hated and feared, that I'm as good as dead to the rest of the world? It doesn't bother you that I could — " His voice sank to barely a whisper. " — kill you."

She scoffed. "But you won't," she insisted. "I know you, and I know you won't. It doesn't bother me because I know who you truly are — "

"What I truly am is a monster — "

" — and I know that it's not permanent," she finished, completely disregarding his interruption.

He stared at her in disbelief, raising his voice. "Not permanent?"

"You know what I meant." She, too, raised her voice to match his. "It happens once a month. And for what, eight hours?"

He gritted his teeth. "You can do so much better."

"Can I?" she snapped. Ron flinched. "Despite what you might think, I'm not the most _likable _person around. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty prone to messing things up. I was told that when I joined the Order, I was no longer going to have a life, or at least, not one your average witch dreams about. I was fully prepared to give that up; where was I going to go anyways? Then I met you and I instantly took it all back. I did want a life. I wanted everything I was told I wasn't able to have. Now I'm not about to sit back and let you have your way." Tonks folded her arms across her chest proudly. "Besides, I don't need to do better."

Ron laughed. "You're just like her, you know," he whispered.

Teddy was pulled away from the memory and back into reality. The words were almost a surprise to him, though he had heard them plenty of times from Bill and Andromeda. "Really?" He blinked back the tears in his eyes before returning to the memory. Oddly enough, it seemed more real to hear it said there, in that moment, when he himself was able to see it too.

Tonks ran a hand through her obscenely colored hair, trying to conjure up something to say. "It doesn't matter what you — or anyone else, for that matter — has to say. You're perfect." She hesitated. "Almost. But I don't care, I'm willing to look past it because it doesn't change who you are. _You're _the one who deserves better, not me."

Much to both her and Teddy's surprise, Remus laughed. "Who would've thought Nymph — "

"Don't," she warned. "Don't you dare." Despite the threatening tone, she was struggling to fight back a smile.

"It's just a name."

She smirked. "You wouldn't be saying if it was you."

"You're not bothered by the fact that the man you fancy is a werewolf, no. The one thing that truly bothers you is your own first name." He laughed and shook his head.

Her eyes lit up as the mood between them changed. "But deep down, he is a brilliant man. There is nothing _brilliant _about that hideous name!"

Before he had time to retort, the door to number twelve opened to reveal a much younger Ginny Weasley, looking rather distracted and annoyed.

"Ginny!" Ron whispered. "Look at how young she was. Fourteen, I think. It's funny, I barely remember what _I _was doing this entire time."

"Mum says dinner's almost ready," the girl announced. She soon retreated back to the house, closing the door behind her. Ron stared after her in disbelief, a smile still wide on his face as he reminisced.

Remus stood up first, outstretching his hand at Tonks. She was slightly taken aback, as if she didn't expect it, but accepted the favor, all the same. She stumbled a bit when she got to her feet, and her eyes never once left his. Finally, they broke apart, remembering where they were, just as the scene faded and the memory drew to a close.


End file.
